Parking brakes on motor vehicles usually take the form of handbrakes or footbrakes. For handbrakes, the mechanism contains a mounting bracket affixed to the interior floor of a motor vehicle. An actuator lever is rotatably attached to the mounting bracket, allowing the actuator lever to be moved upward from a released position to an engaged position. Typically, a cam is attached to the actuator lever. This cam translates the upward motion of the actuator lever into horizontal motion of the cable which, in turn, engages the rear parking brake of the motor vehicle.
Typically, the actuator lever and the mounting bracket are made of metal. When the actuator lever is released from the engaged position, the actuator lever and the mounting bracket will make metal-to-metal contact as the brake comes to rest in the released position. This contact can create an audible and unpleasant noise. Additionally, when the motor vehicle is moving, vibrations from the road and the engine can translate to vibrations of the entire mechanism, including the mounting bracket and the actuator lever. These vibrations can cause the mounting bracket and the actuator lever to “rattle.”